British pop veteran George Michael suffered another frightening health scare prior to his dramatic hospitalisation last week (ends25May14), according to a U.K. report. The former Wham! star hit headlines this week (beg26May14) after it emerged paramedics had been called to his north London home last Thursday (22May14).
He was hospitalised and later released, and a representative for the singer confirms he is now "well and resting", according to Britain's The Sun newspaper.
However, editors at the publication report the scare is the second this year (14) for the star, as he was previously found unconscious at home after collapsing. Police officers are said to have discovered the ailing singer at the property.
A source tells the newspaper, "George's latest collapse is the second time this year that emergency services have attended his home. It seems as if there is barely a month that goes by at the moment without him having problems."

Singer Aretha Franklin has received an honorary doctorate degree from Harvard University. The Respect hitmaker was feted with a Doctor of Arts degree alongside former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday (29May14) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She also sang the U.S. National Anthem at the ceremony. This isn't the first honorary degree from an Ivy League school for Franklin - in 2012, she received a Doctor of Music from Princeton University in New Jersey.

British pop star George Michael was rushed to hospital last week (ends23May14) after falling ill at his home, according to U.K. reports. Two ambulances allegedly attended the former Wham star's north London home at around 8am on Thursday (22May14) after a concerned friend called emergency services.
Witnesses claim the ambulances left after four hours with Michael on board, though the cause of his illness remains unknown.
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service confirmed to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "We were called just before 8am on May 22. We sent two ambulance crews and staff treated one patient, a man, who was then taken to hospital."
Michael's agent tells Britain's The Sun, "George Michael was in hospital for routine tests but there is nothing further to say."
The 50-year-old Faith singer has been hit with a series of health problems in recent years. In 2011, he was hospitalised in Vienna, Austria with pneumonia and spent weeks in intensive care, and in May last year (13) he sustained head injuries after falling from a moving car on a British highway.

ZackSnyder/Twitter
Zack Snyder, director of enough obtuse mediocrity to justify suspicion of blackmail behind his landing the gig directing a movie about the two most beloved comic book characters in American history, has given the world its first glimpse of his take on the Dark Knight. Two shots from the set of Batman vs. Superman hit the web today via Snyder's Twitter account, showing off the latest version of the superhero's famed uniform and trusty ride.
ZackSnyder/Twitter
Though we can only guess how star Ben Affleck, depicted here with a glower for the ages, will treat the long familiar Bruce Wayne, we are offered a healthy glance at the Batsuit we'll be spending time with in this film. Just a costume, you might claim, but perhaps just as lively and vivacious as the man it cloaks (in Kilmer's case, even more so). In fact, if you look back through the history of the Batsuit — with our scientific breakdown — you'll find it has evolved quite a bit...
Batman: The Movie (1966)Starring Adam West, directed by Leslie H. MartinsonSUITIS ORIGINALIS
20th Century Fox Film via Everett Collection
Back when people wore things made of fabric and cloth, the Batsuit was a simple entity.
Batman (1989)Starring Michael Keaton, directed by Tim BurtonSUITIS SHIFTICUS
Warner Bros. Pictures
The 1970s must have seen a nuclear power plant lay waste to the waters of Gotham, because the genetic code of the Batsuit shifted dramatically between its first and second big screen incarnations. Here we see an all-black (save for the yellow pelvic logo) suit comprised ostensibly of galvanized rubber, armed with defensive wristular fins, and topped with a substantually more constricting headpiece. Because the '80s weren't about silly things like comfort or functionability.
Batman Returns (1992)Starring Michael Keaton, directed by Tim BurtonSUITIS CONSISTICUS
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Keaton and Burton's second go saw few changes to the Batsuit... though that mask does seem a little angrier this time...
Batman Forever (1995)Starring Val Kilmer, directed by Joel SchumacherSUITIS NIPLICUS
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Doing away with any semblance of subtlety, the '95 tin-plated model was mostly about intimidation: Abs. Pecs. Nipples.
Batman and Robin (1997)Starring George Clooney, directed by Joel SchumacherSUITIS REGRETIBLUS
Warner Bros. Pictures
Um. Hm.
Batman Begins (2005)Starring Christian Bale, directed by Christopher NolanSUITIS SERIUS
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Now things are getting serious. With a mask that allows not even for the occasional smile, the suit that reared its upsetting head in the Nolan era did away with any hint of color (be it yellow, silver, or gray), kept its contours angular, and found a fair balance between statuesque and athletic.
The Dark Knight (2008)Starring Christian Bale, directed by Christopher NolanSUITIS ANGRICUS
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Taking a page from the Kilmer book, The Dark Knight slapped Bale's sophomore uniform with a bit more pizzazz in the torso area — not showing off human muscles, per se, but an exoskeletal design reminiscent of weaponry. Dark times, those aughts.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)Starring Christian Bale, directed by Christopher NolanSUITIS CROSFITUS
Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
Sleeker, slighter, and stocked with arm straps and shoulder pads. The most extreme species of Batsuit we've yet to see.
Batman vs. Superman (2016)Starring Ben Affleck, directed by Zack SnyderSUITIS AFLECUS
ZackSnyder/Twitter
The diminutive ears of the original, the light feel of the Keatons, the abdominal audacity of the Kilmer era, and the colorless palate of the Bale/Nolans... plus, inscrutably, so many veins. Affleck's Batsuit has taken a few traits from each of its ancestors (except the Clooney one) to become a species all its own.
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ABC Television Network
Every network has a tent pole series, but ABC has a tent pole show runner: Shonda Rhimes. So when the network unveiled their fall 2014-2015 schedule on Tuesday, nobody was surprised to see that Thursday nights are now all Rhimes, all the time. But one person can only develop so many shows, and luckily ABC has several other series lined up to fill in the hours that aren't produced by the woman behind Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, series that include a superhero spinoff, an immortal medical examiner who solves crime, and a sitcom about how kids these days are too obsessed with technology.
With so many new shows arriving this fall, it can be hard to figure out which ones are going to be worth your time, so we've rounded up all of ABC's upcoming shows and some clips from their first episodes to save you the hassle. Although, this batch features a next seasons' Trophy Wife and a replacement for Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23, so fans of those shows might want to tread carefully to avoid further heartbreak.
Selfie What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: After a 20-something woman finds herself the subject of an embarrassing viral video, she hires an image consultant to help her rebrand herself in the real world. Who's In It: Karen Gillan and John Cho What It Sounds Like: Pygmalion for the Internet age. How Good Will It Be: The premise (and title) are pretty ridiculous, but both Gillan and Cho are charming and talented, so they might just be enough to keep the show afloat. How Long It Will Last: Like Cougar Town and Trophy Wife before it, the terrible title will be its downfall. We’ll be surprised if it gets two seasons.Airs: Mondays at 8 pm
Manhattan Love Story What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: A romantic comedy about a couple in the beginning stages of their relationship that reveals their inner thoughts as well as their actions. Who's In It: Analeigh Tipton, Jake McDorman, Jade Catta-Preta and Nicholas Wright What It Sounds Like: Peep Show meets How I Met Your Mother How Good Will It Be: McDormand has been playing the loveable jerk for years now, and Tipton is charmingly awkward, but the inner monologue shtick seems like it will get annoying very quickly. How Long It Will Last: One and done.Airs: Mondays at 8:30 pm
Forever What It Is: Drama What It's About: A medical examiner who just happens to be immortal. Who's In It: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza and Judd Hirsch What It Sounds Like: Remember New Amsterdam? No? Well, it’s basically the same thing. How Good Will It Be: It depends on how well the show is able to integrate the issue of him immortality, but there are so many “cop with a mysterious secret” procedurals on the air right now that this one does How Long It Will Last: Unlike New Amsterdam, it will probably get a full season. Airs: Mondays at 10 pm
Black-ish What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: An upper-middle class black man struggles to raise his assimilated, color-blind kids with a sense of cultural identity. Who's In It: Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis-Ross and Laurence Fishburne What It Sounds Like: The early episodes of The Fresh Prince that were actually about something How Good Will It Be: It’s got a cast full of TV vets and Larry Wilmore behind it, but it looks a little too generic to really stand out. How Long It Will Last: Even with Wilmore leaving for the Minority Report in October, the cast should be enough to earn it a second season. Airs: Wednesdays at 9:30 pm
Christela What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: An ambitious law student is torn between her dream job and her traditional Mexican-American family. Who's In It: Christela Alonzo, Carlos Ponce, Terri Hoyos, Andrew Leeds and Sam McMurray What It Sounds Like: If Leslie Knope were a character on George Lopez How Good Will It Be: Alonzo is an accomplished comedian, which will help the show in the long run, but thus far we haven’t seen anything that’s worth getting excited over. How Long It Will Last: Probably a yearAirs: Fridays at 8:30 pm
How to Get Away With Murder What It Is: Drama What It's About: A group of law school students find themselves entangled in a real-life murder mystery. Who's In It: Viola Davis, Alfie Enoch, Liza Weil, Matt McGorry, Aja Naomi King and Michael Gaston What It Sounds Like: Legally Blonde, minus the light-hearted goofiness, plus Scandal How Good Will It Be: Like Shonda Rhimes’ other shows, it will probably be campy and over-the-top, but completely addicting nonetheless. How Long It Will Last: Again, it’s Shonda Rhimes, so at least 7 seasons.Airs: Thursdays at 10 pm, after Grey's Anatomy and Scandal
Agent Carter What It Is: Drama What It's About: A female secret agent helps to establish S.H.I.E.L.D. in the days following World War II Who's In It: Hayley Atwell What It Sounds Like: It’s an extended version of the Agent Carter short film. How Good Will It Be: Marvel’s last TV show floundered, but Peggy Carter is an established character, a fan-favorite and is played by the very talented Atwell, so things should go a lot more smoothly this time around. How Long It Will Last: Thanks to the Marvel brand, it’s guaranteed at least two seasons.Airs: Between the winter finale and spring premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
ABC Television Network
Galavant What It Is: Comedy What It's About: A musical fairy tale that follow a prince’s quest for revenge on the king who stole his true love. Who's In It: Vinnie Jones, Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Mallory Jansen, Karen David and Luke Youngblood What It Sounds Like: Once Upon a Time: The Musical! How Good Will It Be: If it doesn’t get bogged down in mythology and plot complications like Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, it could be entertaining in its ridiculousness. How Long It Will Last: Well, Once Upon a Time has been on for three years and Glee has been on for five, so four seasons sounds about right. Airs: Between the winter finale and spring premiere of Once Upon a Time
Fresh Off the Boat What It Is: Sitcom What It's About: Based on the memoir by chef Eddie Huang, it follows as 12-year-old boy as he and his immigrant family adjust to life in suburban Florida. Who's In It: Randall Park, Paul Sheer, Constance Wu, and Aubrey K. Miller What It Sounds Like: Aliens in America meets The Goldbergs, but set in the 1990s How Good Will It Be: It’s written by Nahnatchka Khan, who ran Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23, so it will probably be quirkily funny. How Long It Will Last: Like Don’t Trust the B, it will squeak its way to a second season.Airs: Midseason
Secrets and Lies What It Is: Drama What It's About: A man discovers the body of his neighbor’s son in the woods, sending the town into a tailspin that will reveal everyone’s hidden secrets. Who's In It: Ryan Phillipe, KaDee Strickland, Natalie Martinez, Clifton Collins Jr. and Juliette Lewis What It Sounds Like: Broadchurch, minus David Tennant, with a touch of Revenge. How Good Will It Be: It’s a pretty generic premise, but the cast is good, so like most of ABC’s dramas, you will become addicted to it but you won’t tell anybody about it. How Long It Will Last: It will either be cancelled in the middle of the first season, like Hostages, or it will run for at least four seasons. Airs: Midseason
American Crime What It Is: Drama What It's About: After a couple are attacked in their home, racial tensions are stirred up in a small California community. Who's In It: Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, W. Earl Brown, Richard Cabral, Benito Martinez and Penelope Anne Miller What It Sounds Like: Crash: The TV Series How Good Will It Be: It’s a bit of a complicated topic for ABC's brand of soap-y drama, so we don't see things working out. How Long It Will Last: Cancelled after one season.Airs: Midseason
The Whispers What It Is: Drama What It's About: Aliens have invaded the earth by inhabiting the bodies of children. Who's In It: Lily Rabe, Barry Sloane and Milo Ventimiglia What It Sounds Like: The exact plot of Torchwood: Children of Earth, minus both Peter Capaldi and John Barrowman How Good Will It Be: It’s got a solid cast behind it, but the premise has been done before – and done really well – so we don’t have high hopes. How Long It Will Last: Well, Resurection got a second season, so this probably will too.Airs: Midseason
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Universal Pictures via Everett Collection/Walt Disney Studios via Everett Collection
As Memorial Day approaches, American moviegoers prepare for an onslaught of summer blockbusters. Whether it's the latest edition of a franchise like X-Men: Days of Future Past or the possible beginning of one like Guardians of the Galaxy, everyone has gotten used to big, expensive films hitting the multiplex when the weather gets warm.
Of course, it wasn't always that way. The mid '70s work of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas helped usher in the current model that studios use in setting their summer releases. While the work of the two directors is iconic, what's followed hasn't always lived up to the term "blockbuster." Our writers argue whether things were better in the days when Lucas and Spielberg ruled the roost or if we're in a new golden age of big budget extravaganzas.
The Spectacular Spielberg (Jon Lisi)
Let’s just assume for a second that Jaws was never released in the summer of 1975.
Cynics might claim that the brilliant New Hollywood films of the 1970s like Five Easy Pieces, Nashville, and The Conversation would continue to be made as a result, but we all know that this so-called “American New Wave” was on the inevitable decline. Instead, we’d have to imagine a cinema in which the first major summer blockbuster from Hollywood was not Spielberg’s terrifying monster movie.
Is it possible to picture the summer blockbuster without Jaws? I don’t think so. For better or worse, Jaws is the gold standard to which all future summer blockbusters have been judged. The question that is asked as a result, then, is whether or not contemporary summer blockbusters like Transformers, Iron Man, The Avengers and other superhero amalgamations compare in quality to past summer blockbusters like Jaws, E.T., Back to the Future, and Ghostbusters?
If we are to answer this question honestly, we need to remove any consideration of money. After all, plenty of movies do well at the box office, and the massive success of the Twilight franchise shows how few of them are actually good. Instead, we need to focus on what the first summer blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars had that contemporary ones like Transformers and Iron Man lack.
The most significance difference, I think, is that a summer blockbuster like Jaws isn’t about a shark, whereas a summer blockbuster like Transformers is about alien robots. That is, Jaws uses a series of shark attacks to investigate small-town mentality in an entertaining way. You can certainly sit back and enjoy the film literally — as a monster movie — but Spielberg wants you to think about what the shark reveals about American community and the ways individuals work together to solve a common problem.
Transformers, by contrast, doesn’t offer anything interesting beyond the initial spectacle. The digital effects may lure you into the theater, but after the stuff blows up, you aren’t left with anything to ponder. This may not matter to prepubescent boys, but for those interested in mainstream fare that is also intelligent, the contemporary summer blockbuster doesn’t suffice.
I’m aware that there are exceptions. For instance, the films by Christopher Nolan merge commerce and art quite successfully, as do most Pixar films. However, these are anomalies, and for the most part, contemporary summer blockbusters have failed to live up to the standard Jaws set nearly 40 years ago.
A Marvel-ous New Era (Brendon McCullin)
The passage of time tends to lend a glow to the early blockbusters of Spielberg and Lucas. In reality, Spielberg went the Hitchcock route with Jaws because he was forced to by external conditions. And we can argue how much the performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw had to do with his directing. Lucas, for his part, might have been great at story concepts but he always had a tin ear when it came to dialogue (leading to the famous Harrison Ford rant, "You can type this s**t, but you sure as hell can't say it").
That's not to denigrate what Spielberg and Lucas did — they each authored cultural phenomena that altered American filmmaking and the movie industry as a whole — but let's not go too crazy. Some of their contemporaries, particularly screenwriters like John Milius and Robert Towne, may have liked them personally, but didn't always love how they handled their craft.
The fact is there has always been and will always be a place in Hollywood for big, crowd-pleasing popcorn movies… and there have always been good and bad ones. Just because Jaws was better than The Towering Inferno and Star Wars was better than Airport '77 doesn’t necessarily kick into the same strata of cinematic history as The Godfather.
If we were having this argument 15 to 20 years ago, I would be completely on board. Back when Michael Bay was unleashing a steady stream of trash like Armageddon and The Rock on audiences and what amounted to good storytelling was Will Smith making wisecracks while fighting aliens in Independence Day… well, yes, that was a low point for summer blockbusters. Heck, that was a low point for film in general.
Since then, however, a new group of filmmakers who value story as much as visual pyrotechnics have taken the lead on some of the biggest tent-pole movies in recent years. Some of them, such as Joss Whedon (The Avengers) and J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) come from the writer dominated domain of television. Others, like Jon Favreau (Iron Man) and Kenneth Branagh (Thor) are themselves actors and work to make their stars look good.
Combine that group with the aforementioned Nolan (The Dark Knight) and the Pixar team under John Lasseter and really, you would be hard pressed to find another period that matched the number of talented, conscientious, and literate filmmakers that are willing to helm blockbusters.
The nice thing is that many of these directors — particularly Whedon and Abrams — clearly gained some of their sensibilities as youngsters watching the films of Lucas and Spielberg. You're never going to get rid of people like Bay and movies like his Transformers franchise, but blockbusters are in as good of hands now as they've ever been.

Late TV mogul Aaron Spelling once developed a Pied Piper on Hamelin-inspired film for Michael Jackson.
The Hollywood icon's widow Candy reveals she got to know the King of Pop really well while he was working with her late husband on the film's script - and she's still upset the movie never got made.
She tells WENN, "Aaron wrote lots of scripts that didn't work out. One was for Michael Jackson. Michael got George Lucas involved and all of a sudden George rewrote the whole thing and it became a whole different concept, so it didn't happen. "It was very much like the Pied Piper film that Danny Kaye starred in, where Michael was, like, the Pied Piper who charmed all these children!"
Ironically, the King of Pop fought allegations of improper relationships with his young friends throughout his life and in 2004 battled a child molestation charge. But Candy Spelling is among those who believes Jackson would never harm a child in any way: "I actually liked Michael. He was a very kind person and was a wonderful father. I was lucky enough to see some private moments of Michael with his children. I talk about it in my new book (At Last, A Memoir), but I got to see a different side to Michael Jackson from what everyone's read about."

Lady Gaga is parting ways with her red Rolls-Royce Corniche III convertible to benefit the MusiCares charity. The luxury vehicle, in which she travelled to Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum for an event in September, 2012, is to be auctioned off at the upcoming Julien's Auctions Music Icons, Legends and Rebels sale in New York.
The car is expected to fetch between $30,000 (GBP19,000) and $50,000 (GBP31,250) when it goes under the hammer on 17 May (14) at the Hard Rock Cafe auction, where one of Gaga's Philip Treacy hats and a stage worn headpiece are also among the lots.
The auction highlights also include George Harrison's 1962 Rickenbacker guitar, a Paul McCartney-used Hofner Bass guitar, Elvis Presley's onstage jumpsuit, U2's With Or Without You MTV Award and Michael Jackson's handwritten lyrics to Billie Jean.

20th Century Fox Broadcasting
Cinco de Mayo: a day of celebration, remembrance, education, and margaritas. Originally a way for Mexican-Americans who were in the United States at the time to commemorate the Battle of the Puebla, when an outnumbered Mexican army crushed the French forces invading the country, it has since become a holiday dedicated to the celebration and education of Mexican heritage and history. And what better way to celebrate their culture than with a playlist of television shows and movies set in Mexico?
Whether you're looking for something to entertain your friends at a party or you want something to binge watch while you relax with a plate full of traditional Mexican dishes, we've got you covered. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we've rounded up the best television episodes and films set in Mexico, perfect for enjoying alongside your gorditas, tamales and chilaquiles. We've even pulled an important lesson from each, so that you can learn while you laugh.
Arrested Development, "Amigos" In this second season episode, Michael discovers that George Sr. has escaped to Mexico, and heads south of the border to track him down. However, G.O.B. thinks that Michael is the one fleeing the country, and sends a bounty hunter after him. After Michael has to double back to Mexico to pick up Ann (who got left behind in the ensuing chaos), G.O.B. confronts his brother about what he believes is a plan to leave the company. Meanwhile, Buster hides out in Michael's trunk, intending to escape to Mexico to spite Lucille, only to end up at Lupe's house, which he believes to be in Mexico. What This Episode Teaches Us About Mexico: You know the Bluth family's infamous chicken dances? They're considered to be a grave insult south of the border. Also, be conscious of where you park your stair car.
Y Tu Mamá Tambien Tenoch and Julio are two teenagers who meet Luisa, the twenty-something wife of Julio's cousin at a wedding. To impress her, they invite her along on a trip to see la Boca de Cielo, the most beautiful beach in the country. When Luisa discovers that her husband has been cheating on her, she takes the boys up on their offer to see the beach... which doesn't exist. They set out anyway, and the three of them go on a journey of discovery about themselves, their relationships and what the future holds for them. What This Movie Teaches Us About Mexico: There is no beach so beautiful it's nicknamed the "Mouth of Heaven," but there are plenty of other lovely beaches worth seeing - although you should maybe think twice before inviting that beautiful stranger to tag along on your road trip.
King of the Hill, "Lupe's Revenge"Peggy takes the Spanish class she's substitute teaching on a field trip to Mexico, where she quickly abandons the itenerary and takes the kids to a butcher's shop. As the class is boarding the bus to head back to Texas, she forces a young girl named Lupe to get on the bus, thinking she's one of her students. Because Peggy can't actually speak Spanish, she doesn't understand the girl's protests, which results in her being arrested for kidnapping when she finally drives Lupe back to Mexico. Instead of using the defense that she doesn't understand Spanish, and it was a misunderstanding, Peggy's pride takes over. Luckily, her lawyer is smart enough to put her one th stand, where the jury can see just how little Peggy actually understands, and they let her off. What This Episode Teaches Us About Mexico: You really, really should learn a few key correct phrases before you visit. Or, at the very least, don't force strange children to get on your school bus if they're not actually your student.
Orion Pictures Corp via Everett Collection
Three Amigos!When a bandit named El Guapo begins terrorizing the Mexican city of Santo Poco, a young woman sends a telegraph requesting help from the heroes she saw in a movie, believing them to be real. The Three Amigos, who are actually actors, travel to the city, thinking they're being hired for a show. They come face to face with El Guapo and his band of men, and rely on their Hollywood tricks to help defeat him. However, he comes back the next day with a full army, looking for revenge. What This Movie Teaches Us About Mexico: The people who live in Mexico are generally very friendly, and sometimes cunning and terrifying. Also, never trust the telegraph guy. He'll edit your message and you'll end up with actors instead of soldiers.
Monk, "Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico"After the son of a prominent businessman dies in a skydiving accident, Monk and Sharona are sent down to Mexico to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. However, between his suitcases getting stolen, the imminent threat of dehydration - Monk, unsurprisingly, refuses to drink anything by the water he brought, which was in the stolen suitcase - and someone attempting to kill him, Monk might not live to see the investigation through. What This Episode Teaches Us About Mexico: If you're a rich kid from San Francisco, you should spend spring break somewhere other than San Marcos, and it's better to risk drinking the water than to almost die of dehydration in a foreign country.
Frida The story of the iconic Mexican painter Frida Khalo, the film traces her life from the accident that caused her life-long health problems at 18 through her death at age 47. As she recovers from the accident, she begins painting, and soon marries the muralist Digeo Rivera. However, their relationship is a tempestuous one, with both parties frequently engaging in affairs. Khalo later meets the Russian revolutionary Leo Trotsky, who was granted political asylum in Mexico, but shortly after Rivera discovers their affair and requests a divorce, Trotsky is murdered. During this time, her health began to deteriorate, and she was forced to amputated several toes and her left leg. What This Movie Teaches Us About Mexico: It wasn't the safest place to hide out if you were a Russian Marxist revolutionary in the first half of the 20th century, although the vivid artistic culture kind of makes up for it.
The Bridge Set on the Mexican-American border, this FX series follows two detectives, one American and one Mexican, as they attempt to catch a serial killer who is terrorizing both of their jurisdictions. But in addition to catching a killer, Det. Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) and Det. Marco Ruiz (Demián Bichir) also need to deal with the police corruption and drug cartels that are complicating things. What This Show Teaches Us About Mexico: Border towns are some of the most interesting cities in the country, as some elements of the cultures blend together seamlessly, while others keep the citizens separated. And no matter what country you're in, every detective miniseries will feature the same character archetypes.
The Road to El Dorado Tulio and Miguel, two 16th century con artists, win a map claiming to show the location of the golden city of El Dorado by cheating at a dice game. In an attempt to escape, the hide on a ship that happens to belong to the explorer Hernan Cortes, and wind up in the fabled city, where they are mistaken for gods. In order to get their gold and get out of El Dorado, they need to rely on a local woman, Chel, who will help them maintain the illusion for her share of their treasure. What This Film Teaches Us About Mexico: The alignment of the stars is of vital importance to any proper tribute. Also, take some time to learn about the local culture so you don't find yourself in over your head pretending to be an ancient god.
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CBS Broadcasting
Not every show can go out on a good note. Sure, some shows like Breaking Bad come up with a conclusion that feels right and true to most fans. But usually, when a show has been on the air for a while, finding a tidy way to wrap things up can be a chore.
Even if it's been planned out since the beginning, as was the case with the series finale of How I Met Your Mother, it's hard to make people who have invested time in the characters feel like they've said goodbye in a satisfying way. While the fury swells over the HIMYM's controversial ending, it's helpful to distract ourselves with other epic finale fails Ted and his stupid blue French horn are up against.
The Sopranos
It's like the start of a joke… Tony Soprano walks into a diner.
That's how David Chase sets up the finale of his landmark HBO series. The Mafia boss made famous by the late James Gandolfini rifles through a jukebox at his table and picks out Journey's "Don’t Stop Believing." His wife Carmela (Edie Falco) joins him, soon followed by his son A.J. (Robert Iler). The diner is full. A guy in a hat sits at a nearby booth and may have eyed Tony when he was alone. Another guy in a Members Only jacket enters right before A.J. and seems kind of twitchy. Another pair of guys lingers near the counter. Tony's daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is late because she can't parallel park. The jacket guy walks past the Soprano's table and goes into the bathroom. Meadow, finally out of the car, walks towards the door of the diner. She reaches out to open it, the bell rings above the door and… nothing. Cut to a black screen.
Millions of Americans reached for their remote, sure that their TV sets had just completely screwed them over and were poised to call their cable company... when suddenly the credits started to roll. The shock that the series ended with a cut to black set fans howling and looking for answers. Did we go black because a bullet just went through Tony's head? Did the bell mean something? Were the potential threats in the diner just a part of Tony's normal paranoia? What the heck does any of it mean? Chase has steadfastly refused to provide much in the way of explanation, leaving a large section of the fan base furious over the ambiguity.
Seinfeld
The show about nothing decided to make the end about something. That's a problem. With Larry David back to write the final episode of the show that he created with his friend Jerry Seinfeld, the group is about to have some good fortune. The show-within-a-show created by Jerry and George (Jason Alexander) finds new life and the duo, along with Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Kramer (Michael Richards), are jetting off to Paris to celebrate in a private jet courtesy of NBC. But, some mechanical issues ground them and while they wait, they stand around making jokey comments about a car-jacking that they're witnessing. Next thing you know, we're in a court room with every ancillary character in the history of the show, each with his or her own story of how horrible Jerry and his friends are. The foursome is led to a single jail cell after being convicted under a Good Samaritan law and, essentially, starts having a conversation the same as they would at Monk's or Jerry's apartment.
As the credits role, Jerry, dressed in prison orange, performs a stand-up routine for the other inmates. The finale was bloated, lazy, and worst of all, not funny… with jokes falling flat left and right. Apparently most of the humor was supposed to come from the audience seeing the Soup Nazi or Newman one last time. For a show that had delivered consistent laughs throughout its entire run, not remaining true to the style of humor that had made it a cultural phenomenon was the ultimate sin.
St. Elsewhere
The critically acclaimed '80s medical drama had a very loyal fan base that kept it on the air. It's hard to remember but the Boston-based show was the career launching pad for a number of actors, Denzel Washington and Mark Harmon chief amongst them, and was a major influence on later hospital series like ER and Grey's Anatomy. In the finale, a bearded Howie Mandel leaves after finishing his residency and David Morse's soulful Dr. Morrison collects his young son to depart as well. As the show's moral center Dr. Westphal (Ed Flanders) returns to his office, his autistic son (Chad Allen) stares out the window at the falling snow.
Cut to: Westphal now dressed as a construction worker entering an apartment where his son is on the floor staring at a snow globe. What's inside the globe? A replica of St. Eligius Hospital, or St. Elsewhere, as it's more commonly called. So, the whole show was just something that played out in the mind of an autistic boy? Is that it? Really? The whole "it was all fake" ending worked exactly once with the brilliant final reveal on Newhart, but that's it.
Dexter
The closet serial killer played by Michael C. Hall is getting out of the game. With his girlfriend Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski) and son Harrison (Evan and Luke Kruntchev) in tow, he's going to skip out to Argentina and lead a more peaceful life... then a criminal shoots Dex's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter). Even though she seems fine, she suddenly lapses into a coma after a massive stroke. Dexter kind of matter-of-factly kills Saxon while he's in police custody, sends Hannah and Harrison off to Buenos Aires, and then takes Deb off life support. He steals her body and dumps it into the sea, before faking his own death. Except when we see Hannah and Harrison way down south, Dexter isn't with them and Hannah is reading a news story about his presumed watery demise.
We hear Dexter in a voice-over explaining how hard it is to be him. So, where is he? Well, why don't we let every fan of the Showtime hit take over from here: "A lumberjack?! He's a f**king lumberjack?! What do you mean he's a f**king lumberjack?!" Before that final scream-inducing reveal — seriously, how many TV sets were broken when remotes went sailing into them immediately after the shot of bearded Dexter? — the episode was pretty lifeless, moving from point A to B to C in a paint-by-numbers kind of way.
Roseanne
Just like with Seinfeld, the ending to Roseanne Barr's long-running sitcom felt like a cheat. Really it was a case where the show probably should've ended a couple of seasons before it actually did. The final season was an unmitigated disaster as the Connors won the lottery and the entire premise of the show changed, becoming a distorted rumination on the meaning of life. In the final episode, we see the cast of the show gathered around the kitchen table eating, laughing, and joking. Then a voice-over from Rosanne tells us that what we've been watching was a figment of her imagination. She's changed things from real life as she's written, including having Dan survive the heart attack that actually killed him two years prior. Worse, she calls into question what parts of the show going back before the heart attack were real (what do you mean David is really Becky's boyfriend?). Considering that the show became a ratings juggernaut with its funny portrayal of the real issues that face lower-middle class Americans, being told that it was just the main character's alternate reality was a slap in the face. And, while it's fine for a finale to be packed with emotion — plenty of fans cried at the end of M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show — the final shot of Roseanne sitting alone on her couch was unnecessarily depressing.
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